


An Apple A Day

by Lecrit



Series: The Blind Spot [2]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: (all of them), (i'm not sorry), Alternate Universe - Hospital, Desk Sex, Doctor!Magnus, Fluff, Getting Together, Hospitals, Humor, Idiots in Love, Intern!Alec, M/M, Magnus has no shame, Medical Puns, Mutual Pining, Shameless Innuendos, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 05:32:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8132273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecrit/pseuds/Lecrit
Summary: Alec only likes getting up at four in the morning to get to the hospital because he has always dreamed of becoming a doctor and because he finds a childish excitement in besting Dr. Glitter and winning a battle in their little war for his favorite parking spot.It has nothing to do with Magnus’ incorrigible, shameless, incessant flirting. Nothing. (This is a sequel to "Alec Lightwood and the Very Bad, No Good, Terrible, Horrible Day" but it can be read individually)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello cupcakes!
> 
> It's a monster again. You're probably used to it by now.  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> I am not a doctor, nor am I in the medical field in general so I apologize for any medical inaccuracies. I did my research as best as I could :)
> 
> This was beta'd by my hoe [Pravs](https://twitter.com/magnusbake). Thank you babe, you're the best <3
> 
>  
> 
> Friendly warning: Magnus has absolutely no shame. What else is new?
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> Ps: If you're live-tweeting, please use the #lecrit hashtag or tag [me](https://twitter.com/_L_ecrit) so I can track it. :)
> 
> ❤

Being a doctor has always been Alec’s dream.

As a kid, he had always tried to make the people around him feel better. It had felt like his personal mission to defeat diseases and overcome suffering. When Isabelle used to fall and hurt her knee, he was the one who patched her up, all under the amused, but approving gazes of his parents. He had been the one protecting Jace against his own recklessness, always packing up an extra aid kit whenever they went camping during summer.

It helps that he possesses the right skills to address human health problems, a unique combination of a sound scientific approach and an emotional quotient that allow him to endure the highest amount of stress.

He has worked hard to achieve his goals and his internship at Brooklyn Hospital is only a further proof of it.

He had been utterly excited about it. That was until he met the hospital’s unconventional, outlandish, all-around incandescent referent doctor.

Dr. Magnus Bane is a great teacher, patient, well-spoken, witty and he has charmed the entirety of the intern team in the half hour that lasted their first meeting. It might help that he is gorgeous too, all smooth brown skin, wide luminous grins and elegant movements that capture the attention of a crowd in the spur of a second. His brown eyes are mesmerizing, always kind if not playful.

This is starting to be a problem because Alec still holds a bit of a grudge for the way Magnus acted with him.

Their meeting was an unusual one. Magnus stole his parking spot - which wasn’t truly his in the first place, but Alec had been having the worst day of his life and Dr. Glitter made it equally worse and better, by refusing to give him back _his_ spot while unabashedly flirting with him.

Alec had admittedly been a bit petulant about it, but his terrible day hadn’t played in his favor, and Magnus hadn’t been more mature. What had started with a small argument - if you could even call it that, because Alec had been too starstruck to really argue and Magnus too busy to flirt - has turned into a war, and Alec is barely exaggerating.

Magnus has made it his number one goal to arrive every day just two minutes before Alec - how he does it, Alec has no idea - and park right on that perfect spot, just besides the entrance that leads to the break room. At least, that’s on the days Alec doesn’t wake up extra early to get there before him, only to throw him a conceited smirk when Magnus arrives. He never looks really angry about it. Most of the time, he actually looks proud.

It may be childish, but it gives Alec motivation to wake up at unholy hours in the morning and get to the hospital ready to face yet another interminable day.

Alec tells himself it has everything to do with his dream of becoming a doctor, and maybe just slightly with the childish competition between them, because he can be petty like that.

It has nothing to do with the way Magnus looks just now when he walks into their break room, shrugging his scrubs on. His hair is hitched up and shining under the neon lights of the room, his eyes already glimmering with mischief even that early in the morning. Or that late in the night. Alec has lost all sense of time and space since he started working here.

It’s five in the morning and the night is still dark outside, but Magnus looks as fresh as a daisy. Alec has drunk two coffees already and he still isn’t sure he was awake until Magnus walked into the room - because the sound of the door made him startle and not because Magnus’ smile has all his senses thrown in high alert.

Next to him, Simon is sipping his fourth or fifth coffee already and he has already spilled some twice on his sweater. He’s only awake because he has been listening to Alec complain about Dr. Glitter’s flashy car for the last fifteen minutes.

“Morning sunshines,” Magnus quips as he settles in front of the group.

This morning, it is just Alec, Simon, Lydia and Maia, the rest of the interns being scheduled for the evening shift.

“Good morning, Dr. Bane,” Lydia replies sternly, but Alec, Simon and Maia all greet him with various tired grunts.

“It’s Magnus,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “I’ve told you that about a hundred times now. Now, we’re starting with Pediatrics. Dr. Loss will take care of you today and show you around the service.” Magnus casts a glance over them, expectant. “Come on! Chop, chop! Put your scrubs on and we’re off.”

Simon leaps to his feet and shrugs his coffee-stained sweater off before grabbing his scrubs in his locker. Alec does the same, far more leisurely. It might have to do with the amount of caffeine Simon has already ingurgitated.

Alec lets Maia and Lydia get out first, closely followed by Simon, whose left eye is slightly twitching behind his glasses. Alec needs to have a talk with him about the danger of an overconsumption of caffeine.

“Alec, are you feeling okay?” a smooth, velvety voice calls out as he is about to follow. Alec stops dead on his tracks, his head jerking to the side to glance at Magnus. His lips are pulled into a mischievous smirk and Alec blinks.

“Uh, yeah,” he breathes out.

“You sure?” Magnus asks, and the concern in his tone is completely erased by the devilish flicker in his eyes. “Can I take your temperature? I need to check but I think you’re hot today.”

Alec stammers a few curses under his breath and flees out of the door, ignoring Magnus’ chuckle in his back.

Alec only likes getting up at four in the morning to get to the hospital because he has always dreamed of becoming a doctor and because he finds a childish excitement in besting Dr. Glitter and winning a battle in their little war. It has nothing to do with Magnus’ incorrigible, shameless, incessant flirting. _Nothing_.

.

It has become a constant in Alec’s life.

“Go out with me,” Magnus whispers to him as they watch Aline, one of the nurses, make a blood test on a patient, a kid who was admitted for a bad stomach ache the night before.

“No,” Alec replies, deadpan.

“One day, I won’t ask in vein,” Magnus quips, a wide, playful grin lighting up his handsome features, and Alec bites his lip on a snort.

“Stop stealing my parking spot,” he retorts, unable to form a proper comeback.

“I told you, I would help you find another spot if you’d only let me,” Magnus all but purrs and this time Alec blushes, fighting to keep his eyes solely focused on the reports on the patient’s state.

“It would be much easier if you would just give up,” Alec grits out through clenched teeth, forcing a sheepish smile on his face when Aline glances at them over her shoulder.

“Oh, darling, I’m not a quitter,” Magnus chuckles. “And I love a challenge.”

Alec ducks his head to conceal his smile, clearing his throat as Aline steps back, letting him take over. He sends a reassuring grin to the kid and tells himself that he is absolutely not affected by Magnus’ flirting. Or by the way his eyes light up when they are bickering.

.

“Please tell me we’re not going to end up with a sexual harassment case on our hands.”

Magnus blinks, tearing his eyes away from where he was definitely not staring at Alec having lunch a bit further with the other interns to glance up at Catarina, who lifts an eyebrow at him before taking a seat in front of him, effectively blocking the view.

Magnus scrunches his nose up. “I can control myself,” he states pointedly.

Catarina snorts in disbelief in lieu of an answer.

“I can,” Magnus insists. “It’s not my fault Mother Nature decided to test my limits by throwing Mr. Sexy Frown to my face.”

“You don’t even know if he swings your way,” Catarina replies, pointing at him with her fork as she starts chewing on a broccoli.

Magnus smirks. “Oh, I think he does,” he murmurs with a wink that has her scoffing in amusement.

“Even if he does, you should leave it alone,” she says. “Do you even know his last name?”

“No, but I don’t think I need to,” Magnus replies tauntingly. “Unless he’s into me moaning his full name in his ear but that would be a bit weird.” He pauses, pulling a face. “Mind you, not the weirdest thing I’ve done in bed.”

Catarina levels him with an unimpressed glare.

“It’s Lightwood,” she says. “Alexander Lightwood.”

A silence, and then, Magnus asks, warily, “Like Robert Lightwood?”

“Yup.”

“ _Oh_.”

“Yup,” Catarina nods, the word popping out of her mouth to mock him.

Robert Lightwood is one of Brooklyn Hospital’s biggest donors. His fortune goes beyond imagination. Magnus has met him a couple of time at the annual board meetings. The man transpires power and money, in that way that is both oddly intimidating and a bit revolting. Robert Lightwood built his fortune by investing in supposedly doomed restaurants that he always somehow managed to save before reinvesting the earnings in diverse sectors, from retail to hedge funds. He is so wealthy Magnus is pretty sure his fortune surpases any amount he could possibly imagine.

He suddenly turned into a philanthropist a few years ago, when his youngest son fell gravely ill. Magnus doesn’t know more than that. He only knows the boy survived and Robert has been rewarding Brooklyn Hospital by making generous donations every year. He is the main reason why the pediatric wing has been recently renovated.

“I’m glad we came to an agreement,” Catarina says, now chewing on a pear. “Don’t scare away our biggest sponsor’s son.”

Somehow, while Magnus was zoning out, she managed to finish her meal.

“But he’s so pretty,” Magnus all but whines, punctuating the words with his irresistible combination of puppy eyes and pouting.

Catarina rises to her feet, patting his shoulder in false comfort. Magnus needs new friends.

“Behave,” she tells him somewhat sympathetically, like she knows how much of an effort she's asking from him.

She walks away towards the elevators without another word and Magnus goes back to his previous definitely not staring. Alec is talking with Sergio next to him, an easy smile on his lips, stunning hazel eyes lit up with glee despite his obvious fatigue.

When he throws his head back in laughter, exposing the lean lines of his neck, Magnus can see a tattoo peeking out his collar and he groans. Out loud.

“Fuck you, Mother Nature,” he mumbles under his breath, shooting up to his feet. “That’s not fair.”

.

Alec has never been in an op room before.

If he is completely honest, it is quite impressive. The room is immaculate and the abundance of white around him would be painful for his eyes if it wasn’t softened by the neon lights. The operating table in the center of the room looks ridiculously small in comparison to the electronic monitors against the wall.

Alec walks a bit further into the room, observing his surroundings quietly, imagining what it will be like when he will be the one operating in here.

“This is where you’ll work your magic,” Magnus exclaims as he steps into the room, sliding on a pair of latex gloves. “Don’t touch anything yet. I need my stuff to stay organized.”

Alec frowns, looking over the sterile instruments on the stainless steel table next to the operating table. He can’t see anything special about the way they are organized but then again, he doesn’t understand Magnus’ quirks most of the time.

“Alexander, Saffran,” Magnus calls out and Alec startles at the sound of his full name in his mouth. He opens his mouth to correct him but Magnus is already speaking again, “In the cold room behind you, there’s Napoleon. Please bring him here. Maia, Lydia, help me prepare the table.”

Alec frowns and shares a bewildered glance with Simon before heading to the door that leads to the cold room. A long shiver runs down his spine as he steps inside.

“Who’s Napoleon?” Simon whispers. “Is this one of his weirds jokes I never understand? Or is he hitting on you again?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alec retorts, clearing his throat to compose himself. “And I’m pretty sure Napoleon is him,” he adds, pointing a finger at the dead pig at the back of the room.

Simon pulls a face, but he follows Alec’s lead and helps him carry the animal back to the op room.

Magnus is facing away from them, tidying his sterile instruments with mechanical movements. Somehow, grace remains pregnant in every small shift of his fingers.

“Put him on the table,” he tells them, gesturing vaguely over his shoulder.

“Are we going to practise on him?” Simon asks, slightly alarmed.

“Unless you’d rather do it on one of the bodies in the morgue, yes Steve. That’s what Napoleon is here for.”

“Poor Napoleon,” Simon sighs, with far more dejection than necessary.

Alec rolls his eyes, dropping a hand on his shoulder. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” he quotes with a light, playful smirk.

Magnus swirls around abruptly, lifting an eyebrow at him. There is something like pleasant surprise flashing in his eyes, and Alec bites his lip. Magnus stares at him, blinking but speechless, and the silence stretches long enough for Alec to feel heat rising to his cheeks.

“What?” he blurts out, albeit a bit sheepishly. “I’ve read _Animal Farm_.”

Magnus frowns and he mumbles something under his breath. Alec only catches “Mother Nature” and “unfair”, and he resists the urge to play with the hem of his own latex gloves to find a distraction.

“Alright,” Magnus exclaims, promptly pulling out of his daze, clapping his hands as he does. “Don’t worry, Sherwin. Poor Napoleon here had a tumor. He was doomed anyway. We only buy animals if they’re already ill.”

Simon nods, clearing his throat and tears his eyes away from the animal.

“I’m going to show you how to remove a tumor,” Magnus says. He steps forward, taking one side of the operating table while Alec and Simon go to stand on the other side, Maia and Lydia at their side. “You'll need to practice on keeping your hands steady, for efficiency and precision,” he adds, wiggling long fingers in front of their eyes. Alec is absolutely not wondering what else these fingers can do. “This is also good practice for other activities, or so everyone I ever dated has told me.”

Well, now Alec is wondering. Magnus’ eyes find his and he winks, before turning away completely, grabbing a scalpel. Alec fights back a blush, inhaling sharply through his nose.

Magnus is mostly quiet for the next hour. He only talks to explain to them what he is doing, or to ask one of them to hand him one of the instruments on the silver plate. He moves with deadly precision, without an ounce of hesitation and Alec finds himself mesmerized as he watches him work.

There is something entrancing about the way someone like Magnus, who seems to be completely disorganized and frankly chaotic half of the time, can suddenly turn into this precise, focused being who forgets about the world around him to rivet his attention solely on the task at hands. There is a mask covering half of his face but his eyes are sharp and decisive, just the slightest hint of a frown on his forehead.

Alec swallows a surprised cry when Simon elbows him in the ribs to interrupt his staring, and blinks twice before concentrating back on Magnus’ hands. If he ever has to remove a tumor on a real human being, he doesn’t want to tell them he doesn’t know how because he was distracted by his annoyingly attractive senior resident.

He watches in fascination as Magnus eventually extracts the tumor, wiping his forehead with the back on his forearm.

“There,” Magnus exclaims with a smile. “Much better than Grey’s Anatomy, isn’t it?”

His eyes don’t stop on Alec like they normally would and Alec tells himself that he is definitely not disappointed.

.

By the end of the week, Alec is definitely disappointed. And sick.

The problem isn’t that Magnus stopped flirting with him. It is much worse: Magnus stopped parking on his spot.

On Tuesday, Alec arrived extra early, so he didn’t notice and reveled in yet another victory. On Wednesday, he was almost late, because Isabelle came home just as he was about to leave to get to the hospital, completely drunk and Alec had to put her to bed and force her to swallow two aspirins and some water before he could go. On Thursday, Magnus barely smiled at him. Today is Friday, and Alec is starting to miss the odd but pleasant chill of wondering whether he will have to fight for his perfect parking spot in the morning or not.

Magnus’ car is parked right next to the spot they have been fighting for for weeks. He frowns as he parks, before groaning in pain as his head throbs painfully. His hands are trembling against the steering wheel and he steps out of the car slowly. Every step he takes seems to be one step closer to passing out, adding more weight to his shoulders.

“Wow, man, you look like shit,” Simon exclaims when he walks into the break room.

Alec throws him a murderous glare and goes to his locker to grab his scrubs, but ends up leaning his forehead against the metal door instead, basking in the cold sensation on his feverish face.

“Alec, are you okay?” Lydia asks softly, rubbing a soothing hand on his back.

Alec grunts in answer but nods weakly. “Yeah, it’s just a headache.”

“Good morning, sunshines,” Magnus utters cheerfully as he bursts into the room. Alec shivers as a furtive draft follows his entrance but he pulls back from the locker and grabs his scrubs to shrug them on, ignoring the ache in his body. “We’re heading to Cardiology today. Get read- Wow, Alexander, are you okay?”

He steps forward before Alec can even think of an answer and brings a hand up to lean on his forehead. Alec wishes he didn’t have a fever so he could actually feel his touch against his skin. All he can feel right now is every part of him that is hurting.

“You’re burning up,” Magnus says, brow furrowed.

“You already used that one,” Alec grumbles shakily. “You’re getting repetitive with your pickup lines.”

Magnus smirks, a playful flicker glimmering in his mesmerizing eyes. “Please,” he scoffs in staged indignation, “I have many more in store.”

Alec smiles faintly, suppressing a whimper as Magnus’ cold hand disappear from his forehead.

“Why didn’t you call in sick?”

“I’m not sick,” Alec lies, shaking his head. “I can work.”

“I’m not letting you anywhere near the patients when you could be infectious,” Magnus retorts firmly.

Alec feels like an idiot. He didn’t think about it that way. All he was thinking about this morning as he got ready to get to work was that his head was killing him but that it seemed manageable. And maybe he was also distracted by fathoming on the reasons why Magnus could have stopped flirting with him. Maybe he grew tired of Alec telling him no. Maybe Alec should have put a stop to this cat and mouse game before it was too late. And now it is. He blames all of this on his fever, which might make him slightly delirious.

Magnus turns his head to look at Simon, Lydia and Maia, who are patiently waiting on the threshold, glancing at them worriedly. “Head to the Cardiology Department,” he instructs. “Dr. Santiago will greet you. Tell him I’ll be right there. I’m just going to take care of this giant idiot first.”

“Hey,” Alec protests, but it doesn’t come out as more than a whisper.

“Can you walk?” Magnus asks as soon as they’re gone. Alec nods. “Why on earth did you come to work?” Magnus exclaims then, grabbing Alec’s arm firmly when he sways on his feet, before guiding him out of the break room.

“I work in a hospital,” Alec replies and he tries to smile to add some life to his joke, but it turns into a pained grimace instead. “Seems like the right place to be when you’re sick.”

Magnus shakes his head and Alec thinks he catches the ghost of a smile on his lips, but it might be his delirious mind playing a trick on him. Magnus leads him all the way to the end of the corridor, which is mostly empty at this time of the morning, and opens the door to his office, gesturing for Alec to get in.

He obliges, holding himself upright on the wall. His head feels like it’s about to explode. He spots the couch on the corner of the room and walks straight to it, slouching on it unceremoniously.

“Take off your sweater,” Magnus demands in his doctor voice. Alec likes Magnus’ doctor voice. It’s severe but caring, and overall unbelievably hot. Again, he blames the fever.

Alec fidgets to get out of his scrubs but his half-sitting, half-lying position on the couch isn’t helping and he gives up, groaning in defeat.

“Are you one of those men who turn into incapacitated five-years-old when they get sick?” Magnus asks airily as he walks to the couch to help Alec sit up properly.

“Am not,” Alec mumbles, shaking his arm to get rid of the scrubs.

Magnus chuckles fondly and reaches out to help him out of the incriminated jacket. Alec hisses in pain as a particularly harsh throb burst in his head and he curses his fever for not letting him appreciate their sudden close proximity.

“I had imagined that when I'd undress you, you'd be a bit more conscious,” Magnus mutters, grabbing the hem of his sweater to tug it over his head.

“You smell nice,” Alec rambles in lieu of an answer, and at least his current state prevents him from the rush of mortification he would certainly feel if he was feeling better. “Like lemon and sandalwood.”

Magnus smiles at him, small and gentle. “Can you stand up for me, darling?” he asks, his voice soft like a caress.

Alec nods and pushes on his hands to rise to his feet and stand in front of Magnus. Magnus circles him and lifts the edge of his T-shirt to slide his stethoscope beneath it.

“Inhale,” he orders and Alec obliges, ignoring the ache in his throat and the cold metal against the skin of his back. “Exhale.”

His fingers brush against his bare skin and Alec stops breathing altogether.

“Exhale,” Magnus repeats and Alec forces himself to do so, his head swimming with overwhelming sensations he is too tired to dwell on.

Magnus steps back and comes back to stand in front of him, sliding his stethoscope around his neck. His hands reach up to grab his throat gently, his thumbs stroking against it purposely to check his lymph nodes. He hums pensively, and glances up at Alec.

“Come on,” he murmurs. “Open wide.”

Alec throws him a glare as unimpressed as he can summon.

Magnus’ smirk is all kinds of wicked. “No innuendo intended,” he taunts. “I still have to buy you that drink before we get to that.”

“You haven't asked this week,” Alec says, and he opens his mouth, looking at Magnus expectantly.

“Maybe I got tired of getting no for an answer,” Magnus replies conversationally as he sticks a wooden tongue depressor in his mouth.

Alec shouldn’t think about Magnus and tongue in the same sentence. It sends very graphic images to his mind. He shakes his head but freezes when Magnus tuts disapprovingly. He waits until he is done throwing the depressor in the bin and slipping his lamp torch in the front pocket of his scrubs to talk again. “No,” Alec mutters. “There's something else.”

“I think you'll survive, darling,” Magnus says in a clear attempt at dodging the subject. He pushes on Alec's shoulders so he sits back on the couch. “It's just a bad case of sore throat. I’ll get you some pills. No smoking, a lot of rest and lots of liquids.”

Alex waits for the inevitable innuendo but it never comes.

“Is there someone who can come pick you up?” Magnus asks softly.

“My sister,” Alec grumbles. “Simon has her number. I think they're dating or something.”

“Great. I'll have Samuel call her then. In the mid time, stay here and rest.”

Alec hums halfheartedly, lying on his side. Magnus tucks his discarded sweater under his head to serve as a pillow and Alec finds himself smiling in his daze.

“Make sure you eat some solids too. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

“Maybe I don’t want to keep the doctor away,” Alec mutters softly, shutting his eyes as exhaustion waves through him.

He thinks he hears Magnus’ breath hitch in his throat, and him murmuring “dammit Lightwood” before Alec drifts to sleep, darkness enveloping him all at once.

.

Magnus usually doesn’t have lunch with the interns. He prefers Catarina’s company - or Raphael’s when he is in the mood to tease him for his eternal grumpiness. Today, none of them are available. Catarina has been called up for an emergency with a kid who was admitted for some bad vomitings and Raphael refused to come down to the cafeteria because “he already had to deal with those stupid interns all morning, Magnus, I don’t want to see their faces while I eat.”

Magnus doesn’t say so because Alexander is one of them, but he thinks the interns are not too bad this year. They’re not perfect, but they’re here to learn and they are obviously willing to do so, never backing down in front of every challenge Magnus throws their way. They are intelligent but not with the kind of intelligence that makes them arrogant, on the contrary.

He actually likes them, even the dorky one Salmon, who has been blabbering about how great their morning in cardiology was ever since they sat up fifteen minutes ago. It might have to do with the fact that he zoned out half an hour ago, playing with the food in his plate instead.

He is pulled out of his daydream when a woman stops in front of their table, perfectly manicured hands on her hips. She isn’t tall, but the way she holds herself - straight and with her chin up - and her high heels give him the feeling that she makes up for it quite effortlessly. Her long, dark hair is pulled into a tight ponytail, leaving no room to distract from her ethereal beauty, all high cheekbones and blood-painted lips.

“Where is he?” she asks out of the blue. “Is he okay?”

Samson stops talking abruptly and his brown eyes light up as he glances up at her.

“Izzy,” he exclaims with a wide grin.

“Where’s Alec?” she asks again sternly, although she does give him a small smile.

Magnus can almost hear the wheels in his brain turning on as he puts two and two together. Dark hair and too beautiful to be real, of course she is Alec’s sister. He almost wants to groan at the unfairness of those genes. He will have to question Robert about his and his wife’s magical formula when he comes in for the annual board meeting.

“He’s sleeping in my office,” he tells her. “He’ll be okay. He just has a bad fever and I wanted to send him home but I don’t think he should drive.”

“Who are you?”

Well, apparently the bluntness runs in the family too.

“Dr. Bane,” he says, holding out a hand. “I’m the senior referent.”

Her lips pull into a devilish smirk before she shakes his hand. “Oh. You’re the infamous parking spot thief.”

“The one and only,” he replies with a smirk to match her own. He rises to his feet, pushing his unfinished food away. “I’ll take you to him,” he adds, before turning towards his interns. “You’ve got some reports to fill and I have an operation scheduled this afternoon, so I’ll see you later.”

He doesn’t wait for them to answer, gesturing towards the door to Isabelle, who follows him immediately, her high heels clicking on the tiles.

“So, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she says conversationally as they walk to the elevators. She tries to sound sly, but Magnus perceives the genuine interest beneath her tone as surely as he can differentiate a salmon pink from a coral pink.

“Only good things I hope,” he replies as he pressed the button for the first floor.

“Not only,” she eludes, deliberately evasive. “You seem to be quite good at getting under my brother’s skin.”

“I am?” Magnus asks, and he fails at sounding detached just like she did.

She hums in approval, crossing her arms over her chest. “Just the other day, he spent half an hour complaining about you stealing his parking spot again, then about you flirting with him during a visit to a patient. Then he spent the next half hour rambling about you being “annoyingly smart” and making literary references in regards of some pig, and then he praised you for being amazing at your job and one of the best surgeons he has ever seen, before going back to complaining about you.”

Magnus bites his lip to conceal his grin, and fails miserably.

“He hasn’t talked that much about you for the rest of the week, though,” she points out with a frown, following him as he steps into the corridor. “I feel like I should warn you that I am a krav maga instructor in my spare time and I know very efficient ways to make you suffer. A lot.”

His grin promptly disappears, not in fear but in contrition. He sighs, running a hand in his hair.

“I’ve been kindly informed that I should stop flirting with him,” he tells her. Why he does so, he has no idea. There is something about her that makes her easy to talk to. He has no doubt butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. He almost pities poor Sacha.

Isabelle stops dead in her tracks, her frown deepening. “Why?”

Magnus turns to look at her and sighs. “Does it matter? It’s not like he likes me anyway.”

Isabelle snorts and rolls her eyes. She looks so much like her brother right then that he feels a surge of fondness burst in his chest.

“Oh, please,” she scoffs. “He talks about you all the time. My brother never talks about anyone except for his friends, or us. He even gave you a nickname.”

“A nickname?” Magnus echoes bemusedly, lifting an eyebrow.

“Dr. Glitter,” she says tauntingly, the corner of her lips curving in a smirk. “Or Dr. Stupid, depending on what you did to provoke him.”

Magnus’ mouth drops open. Isabelle chuckles and she steps closer, grabbing both his shoulders in a surprisingly strong grip. He makes a mental note to remember about those krav maga induced threats.

“Look, I love my brother but he is completely socially inept. He probably thinks you were flirting with him to irritate him.”

Magnus huffs out a breath in indignation, but quickly shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t bother him again.”

Isabelle squints her eyes as she studies him and he feels like one of his patients lying on an operating table before he opens them up for surgery, Magnus hovering above them with complete power.

“Oh,” she whispers, and her face darkens with realization. “It’s about our father, isn’t it?”

Magnus’ silence is worth more than any spoken answer.

Isabelle releases him abruptly, eyes flashing with sudden wrath. “You know what? If you’re put off because of that, you don’t deserve him anyway.”

“It’s not-” Magnus starts in a lame attempt at defending himself, but Isabelle is already turning away from him, barging into his office unceremoniously.

Alec is still lying on the couch, fast asleep, head peacefully tucked on his sweater and covered with the blanket Magnus carefully laid over him before leaving earlier this morning. His face is a bit more colorful than it was then, but it is still far paler than usual.

Isabelle walks to the couch and squats to be at eye level with her brother, carding a hand through his hair gently. Magnus is definitely not envious; he absolutely doesn’t want to know how Alec’s hair would feel between his fingers. “Alec,” she calls softly.

Alec stirs and he blinks his eyes open, cloudy and unfocused, before he recognizes the familiar face. “Izzy,” he grumbles before he bursts into fits of coughing, huddling his sweater against his face to spare her the bacteria.

Magnus grabs a glass in his cabinet and fills it with water before handing it over. Alec looks up at him and seems surprised to see him for a second before he accepts the glass, downing it slowly. When he is done, he blinks again, surveying his surroundings warily.

“Where am I?” he asks, voice rough.

“In my office,” Magnus replies, stepping closer to touch his forehead. “Your temperature has dropped but you should go home. You’re off for the week-end anyway.”

“But-”

“Go home, Alexander,” Magnus says, firmly enough to prevent any further argument.

“Fine,” he mumbles grimly.

Magnus nods, content, and fishes in the pocket of his scrubs to produce the box of pills he went to fetch earlier. He hands them to Alec, who takes them with trembling fingers.

“Twice a day during meals.”

“I know, Magnus,” Alec croaks out. “Thanks.”

He goes to stand up but sways on his feet and Magnus doesn’t think. He rushes forward and grabs him under his arms before he can collapse.

“There,” he says, helping him stand upright.

Alec closes his fist around Magnus’ scrubs, clutching them in a strong grip and when Magnus glances up, he is looking right at him, hazel eyes somehow equally blurry and focused.

“Thanks,” Alec murmurs and he licks his lips. Magnus knows, all things considered, that it is probably because his throat feels dry but his heart skips a beat all the same and he curses inwardly.

He doesn’t know how long they spend staring into each other’s eyes but it must be embarrassingly long because eventually, Isabelle clears her throat next to them and the spell is broken.

“Where are your car keys?” she asks Alec, who pulls back from Magnus to fish them out of his jeans pocket. “Let’s go, big brother,” she utters, plucking them out of his hands. “You heard Dr. Glitter, you need to rest.”

It takes Alec a few seconds to register what she just said but when he does, he flushes and Magnus is suddenly too busy pondering on how adorable he looks to feel sorry for him.

“Izzy,” he hisses disapprovingly under his breath but Isabelle smiles innocently at him and Alec rolls his eyes, clearly not buying the act.

Magnus helps Isabelle walk her brother to his car. When he is tucked in the passenger seat and she closes the door, she swirls around to face Magnus.

“Just so you know, my father is not a monster,” she mutters, narrowing her eyes in an expression that is oddly terrifying. “Even if you end up breaking my brother’s heart - which I strongly advise you not to do if you like living - he wouldn’t stop funding the hospital. He gives money to the hospital because he is grateful that they saved my little brother’s life, yes, but also because it matters to him to use his money to help if he can.”

Magnus nods sheepishly and blows out a sigh. “I’m sorry,” he replies on the same tone, darting his eyes to Alec in the car, who is already drifting back to sleep. “My friend told me to stay away and I thought it’d be…”

“Easier?”

“I guess,” he admits with a shrug. “It’s not like he seemed interested anyway.”

Isabelle huffs in mild exasperation, but it is softened by unmistakable fondness. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my brother isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy,” she states and Magnus can only agree. “That doesn’t mean he is unaffected. I told you, you get under his skin. And I think it’s mostly because you don’t leave him as indifferent as he pretends to.”

She pats his shoulder amiably and turns away to take the driver seat.

Magnus watches the car drive away until it turns at the parking exit and disappears from his sight. Only then, he blows out a deep sigh and looks back at his own car, parked right next to _the_ spot that started their overly dramatic but thrilling war a few weeks ago.

Slowly, a weight he didn’t know was there lifting from his chest, he smirks.

.

“Are you broca’s aphasia, Alexander? Because you leave me speechless.”

Alec startles, looking up from the report he was busy writing.

It is his first day back at the hospital. He spent his weekend and Monday lying in bed or on the couch coughing his lungs out or hallucinating because of his fever but he finally feels better and reinvigorated, which has nothing to do with the sight he is graced with as he glances up.

Magnus is standing in front of him, one hand on his hip while the other is closed on an apple and he stares at Alec as he chews on the fruit, a devilish smirk tugging at his lips.

“Uh?”

“Are you broca’s aphasia?” Magnus repeats, a playful flicker dancing in his eyes. “Because you leave me speechless.”

“Did you just call me a disease?” Alec asks bemusedly.

“Well, I’ve tried just asking you out and you keep resisting me, so I’m going for a new approach,” Magnus replies. “I’m going to wait until you ask me out.”

Alec closes his files and rises to his feet, going to stand in front of Magnus, leaning in his personal space. It’s just that the way Magnus’ breath hitches in his throat when he stands close enough is incredibly thrilling. “I hope you’re persistent,” he mutters with a tempting smirk.

“Persistent, and inexhaustible,” Magnus retorts with a wink. “I’ll be happy to prove to you just how enduring I can be.”

Alec swings on his feet and walks away before Magnus can see his smirk turn into a grin.

.

After that, it’s a whole other kind of competition between them.

Magnus keeps stealing his parking spot, but he mostly seems set on flirting with Alec in the most ridiculous, utterly shameless ways. Alec is slowly realizing that Magnus is indeed tenacious, and his motivation only increases with time.

“Do you need help to handle that needle? It’s a big one,” he mutters when Alec is doing an injection to a patient on the following Wednesday. “Oh, nevermind, that slipped in easy. Good to know you’re good with needles.”

“Oh my God,” Alec breathes out, reaching blindly with his foot to kick him in the shin while smiling innocently at his patient. “Stop it.”

Magnus giggles in his back and avoids the blow by leaping out of the way with far too much grace. The sound is so beautiful, clear and delighted, that Alec almost jabs the poor patient again.

On Thursday, he walks into the break room and slams a hand over his chest dramatically. “Alexander, are you a heart doctor? Because I think mine just skipped a beat when I saw you.”

Simon snickers next to him and Alec punches his shoulder.

Friday is their day off and Alec has to admit he may or may not be a bit disappointed at the idea of not hearing what Magnus would come up with.

His disappointment vanishes into thin air when his phone buzzes on his night table and he finds a text from Dr. Glitter (parking spot thief). That’s the name Alec gave him when he added his number in when they first met and he doesn’t want to change it.

_Just finished your pre-op report on Mrs. Norris’ case. Good job. Not bad at all for your first time._

Alec snorts, stretching lazily in his bed as he reads the text again.

 _Wait until you get the next one_ , he types quickly. _The second time is always better._

 _You’ll have to prove it to me_ , Magnus replies barely a heartbeat later, with a winky face at the end that is pretty self-explanatory.

Alec gets out of bed slowly and when he gets to the kitchen, walking straight to the coffee machine to pour himself a much needed coffee, Isabelle and Jace are already there. Jace is standing in front of the pan and the sight of French toast is enough to make Alec’s mouth water. He drops a kiss on his sister’s forehead, pats Jace’s back and goes to sit at the counter. It’s only then that he realizes that they are both staring at him.

“What?”

Isabelle leans her chin in her palm, tapping her fingers against her cheek. “You’ve got a stupid smile on your face.”

“No, I don’t,” Alec retorts, but he urges himself to stop grinning like a maniac.

“Yeah, you do,” Jace replies, setting a plate in front of him. Alec almost moans at the delicious smell. There are many perks of having a brother who is a chef, but being his guinea pig when he is testing new recipes is Alec’s favorite thing. Jace has been working in one of their father’s restaurant for years but he only became a chef a couple of years ago. He is absolutely brilliant at it, and Alec appreciates it even more when he had a long week at the hospital and he wakes up to find Jace is making breakfast.

“Come on,” Isabelle says through a mouthful. “Did you finally ask Dr. Glitter out?”

“Nope,” Alec replies.

Jace and Isabelle both groan in perfect unison and Alec throws them a murderous glare, before grabbing his phone, which is vibrating again. He has to bite on his lip to stifle a laugh.

Magnus sent him a picture of a patient’s x-ray radiograph, with the caption _I want tibia your Valentine_ in big letters.

It is already February and Valentine's Day is close. The shops are already all decorated with hearts and pink and red colors that makes Alec want to puke. There are couples everywhere around him and the approaching date just seems to remind him how “painfully single he is” - Isabelle’s words. Ever since Maia and Lydia started dating, he is basically the last single one of their little gang. Alec doesn’t mind too much. He likes his life how it is right now.

 _That was terrible_ , he replies to Magnus, because he is not about to tell him that he actually likes his stupid medical puns.

Magnus’ answer is another picture of a radiograph. _What? Don’t you find me humerus?_

Alec snorts, almost choking on a piece of French toast and next to him, Isabelle heaves out a deep sigh. “Seriously Alec, if you don’t ask him out, I’m going to do it for you.”

He flips her off and focuses back on his phone, googling “tachycardia electrocardiogram” before saving the first picture he can find, sending it to Magnus with the caption “ _Don’t be tachy_.”

He can almost hear Magnus’ giggle in his ears and it is enough to make him grin again.

 _Darling, why don’t we just bone already_ ? _I don’t know how you are on your anatomy, but you can study mine_ , is Magnus’ response and Alec doesn’t know why he blushes the way he does when really, he had been expecting it.

 _I toed you before_ , Alec replies, _I know my way around anatomy. I work in a hospital._

“Oh my God!” Jace exclaims from where he is peeking over Alec’s shoulder, reaching out to pluck his phone out of his hands before Alec can do anything. “Is that how you medics flirt? That’s terrible, Alec. As your brother, I have the obligation to tell you that Dr. Glitter wants you to inject him with your special serum. Like, yesterday.”

Alec reaches out to grab his phone but Jace throws it to Isabelle, who catches it swiftly, scrolling through the last text messages.

“Alec, this is ridiculous,” she exclaims when she’s done, throwing him a severe glance. “Why haven’t you asked him out yet?”

“I- It’s not-” Alec starts but he is interrupted by the click of his phone’s camera as Isabelle snaps a picture of him, before frantically typing something. “He’s just joking around,” he mumbles eventually.

Isabelle rolls her eyes and Jace hits him behind the head.

“Seriously, buddy?” his brother utters bewilderedly. “How can you be so intelligent and so dumb at the same time? Don’t they teach you to be socially capable in med school?”

“What?” Alec grumbles, rubbing at the back of his head.

“Alec,” Isabelle sighs, reaching out to pat his hand lightly. It is oddly patronizing, so he glares at her but doesn’t push her away. “Dr. Hot Stuff likes you. For real. He definitely wants to buy you the hundred drinks he owes you for stealing your parking spot, and probably take you out on dates and hold your hand and do all the stuff he mentioned here,” she says, wiggling his phone in front of his eyes.

“I… Really?” Alec asks in a small, doubtful voice, scrunching up his lips dubiously.

She gives him his phone back and smiles softly, full of reassurance and confidence. “Really.”

Alec stares down at his phone. Isabelle sent Magnus the picture she took of him with the caption “ _Look at that Dr. Glitter, you made a grown man blush_ ”.

Magnus replied with a picture of himself winking, his lips pulled into a taunting smirk. His hair is up but a few strands fall on his forehead, his eyes enhanced by a discrete trace of black eyeliner. He is in the cafeteria and he looks tired, but also impossibly inviting and Alec wonders if he might be getting sick again because his heart is rummaging in his chest, echoing in his temples.

“Yeah,” he mutters, more to himself than his siblings. “Okay.”

Isabelle and Jace heave out a synchronised sigh. “Fucking finally,” Jace exclaims, throwing his arms in the air dramatically. Alec thinks he would have made a good actor if the chef career hadn’t worked.

.

On Saturday, it is Magnus’ day off and Alec doesn’t realize it until he gets to the break room to get his scrubs to be greeted by Dr. Loss, who smiles warmly at them before ushering them upstairs to Pediatrics for the day. The morning goes smoothly, but Alec’s skin is crawling and he has trouble concentrating, his fingers tickling with the itch to text Magnus. Eventually, he doesn’t because they are called for an emergency regarding a kid who was admitted for a severe meningitis and he just doesn’t have the time to think about anything else.

It is already early afternoon when they leave the little boy - thankfully okay for now - to rest and they are able to get to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

Simon sits down in front of him and just stares as he picks at his food, to the point that Alec starts feeling uncomfortable. “What?” he blurts out eventually when Simon shows no sign of speaking up.

“You know you’re my best friend, right?” Simon says.

Alec rolls his eyes. “Is this about you and Isabelle? Because I don’t care about us being friends. If you hurt her, I’ll make you eat your stethoscope and-”

“No, no,” Simon interrupts, shaking his head. “I mean, you’re my best friend, you know you can talk to me.”

Alec lifts an eyebrow, but doesn’t answer.

Simon sighs, readjusting his glasses on his nose. “Come on, help me out a little bit,” he protests. “I’m trying to be a good friend here!”

“No, I think I like seeing you struggle,” Alec retorts with a playful smirk, a taunting spark in his eyes as he chews on his food.

“You’re an asshole,” Simon says matter-of-factly. “I mean, you and Dr. Innuendo. Are you going to ask him out or are you going to keep brooding and being grumpy?”

Alec is about to deny the whole thing but there is something in Simon's eyes that makes him swallow his protest. “I don’t know,” he admits begrudgingly. “I-I want to, but… but what if it’s a disaster? He’s my boss.”

“Well, I guess you won’t know that unless you actually go for it. Stop finding yourself excuses,” Simon replies and Alec wonders when Simon started giving advices that didn’t consist of watching the entire Lord of the Rings saga in a day. Isabelle must be good for him.

Alec hums pensively, focusing back on his food.

“Hey, Alec… If you ask him out, can you wait until the beginning of next week?”

Alec frowns, glancing up from his plate to level his friend with a questioning look, eyebrow curved in inquiry. Simon deflates a little but he doesn’t have the time to explain because Lydia and Maia arrive to their table, looking just disheveled enough for Alec not to want to fathom where they were and what exactly they were doing.

Lydia smacks a hand behind Simon’s head before she takes the seat next to him. “Stop cheating,” she reprimands him, but her steel-blue eyes are menacing.

Simon gulps. “I-I wasn’t. I was just having a bro talk with my best bro.”

“Please don’t ever say those words again,” Alec deadpans, a look of total horror on his face.

“Please,” Maia insists. “That was ridiculous.”

Simon pouts. “Why are you all so mean to me?” he whines exaggeratedly. “I’m cute and nice and smart, I don’t deserve this.”

“You’re an idiot,” Alec mutters, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, still okay for drinks tonight?” Lydia asks out of the blue, perking up at the mere idea.

Alec nods. He could use a drink or ten. This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions.

Besides, Saturdays drinks are a ritual now between them, and one he doesn’t want to break. When they get the morning shift, they go straight to the bar at the corner of the street and get tipsy, pleasantly drunk or frankly hammered depending on how stressful their week was.

Alec thinks he is more likely to head towards hammered tonight.

.

The Downworld bar is always packed on Saturdays but they arrive early enough to get settled on their favorite table, in the back corner where they don’t have to squeeze to all sit down, the seat wide enough to welcome all of them together.

Alec is sipping his second beer while chatting quietly with Simon, Lydia and Maia being too busy whispering in each other’s ear to pay them attention. By chatting, he means that he is mostly listening to Simon blabber about how great his sister is - as if Alec didn’t know that already. He lets him, though, because he learned a long time ago that there is no stopping Simon when he is in one of those moods.

He finds the perfect opportunity to flee when Isabelle arrives in all her glory and he has to stand from the booth so she can sit next to her boyfriend, who abruptly stops talking when she pecks him lightly on the lips. Finishing his beer in one long gulp, Alec rolls his eyes at Simon’s goofy grin and heads to the bar to order another one.

It is one of those times where Alec is grateful for his height, because it allows him to hover above the crowd for Meliorn, the bizarre bartender who always gives him enigmatic smiles and weird lectures about saving the planet, to spot him easily.

He is just leaning against the bar when he feels a warm breath at the back of his neck.

“Alexander,” a dreadfully familiar murmurs seductively in his ear. “Are you a bone doctor? Because I have one that needs to be checked.”

Alec freezes, a long, enticing shiver running down his spine and he finds himself speechless when Meliorn stops in front of him to take his order. Magnus’ hand is brushing in his lower back, not close enough to properly touch him but just enough for him to feel the warmth that exudes for such a simple gesture.

“Alec,” Meliorn calls out, not for the first time. “I’m busy here. What do you want?”

Alec blows out a rickety breath. “Uh, yeah, sorry,” he stammers. “Uh, t-two glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon. Please. Thanks.”

Alec tells himself that he only knows Magnus’ favorite wine because he told him once in one of his desperate attempts at flirting with him. Alec did not make a mental note about it. Absolutely not.

Meliorn nods and steps away from him and Alec takes another deep breath before he whirls around to face Magnus, before promptly forgetting how to breathe altogether.

Magnus doesn’t look like he does on the days he works. He is always gorgeous and he always wears a bit of makeup but only as much as working in a sterile environment allows him. Magnus is wearing a loose myrtle green shirt that exposes most of his chest, which is scarcely covered by a host a long silver necklaces, and skinny black jeans that somehow shimmers under the neon lights of the bar. His eyes - skillfully outlined by dark kohl, or at least Alec thinks that’s what it’s called - are shining with a combination of pure mischief and genuine delight and Alec… Alec is mad at him because he is just impossibly unfair. And frustrating. And so _unbelievably hot_.

Alec needs a long, cold shower. Right now.

“Are you buying me a drink?” Magnus murmurs tauntingly, but Alec is standing close enough to hear every word, just as surely as he hears the velvety edge of his tone.

“I guess I am,” Alec breathes out, and mentally high-fives himself for not stuttering like an idiot. “I owe you one, don’t I? For ‘taking your breath away’, was it?”

Magnus smirks and hums. “That was it,” he says. “But in that case, you owe me one for everyday we’ve seen each other since then.”

“Well, you owe me one for all the times you stole my parking spot, so there’s that,” Alec counters and he turns away from him to slide a bill to Meliorn, who is handing him both the glasses.

He gives one to Magnus who is biting his lip to stifle a laugh and Alec curves an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, darling,” he chuckles, leaning a hand on Alec’s forearm as he does. “I’m going to have so much fun the day you learn about the hospital’s parking policy.”

Alec frowns but he doesn’t have time to dwell on the words because Magnus grabs his hand - and his skin feels like heaven against his - and makes a sign for him to follow. Alec obliges, because as much as his brain has been trained to do so, he just doesn’t want to say no right now.

He catches his friends’ gazes over the crowd as Magnus guides him through, and they are all watching him like the vultures they are. Lydia and Maia are smirking, Isabelle is throwing him an approving grin while Simon gives him a thumbs up. He flips them all off, ignores Dr. Loss and a man Alec has never seen before who looks like a university teacher who seem to be giving the same treatment to Magnus and focuses solely on the warmth of Magnus’ fingers around his.

Magnus leads him to the rooftop. The place is as crowded as the bar itself, but they manage to find a table at the edge of the terrace, which gives on the street and the buildings beautifully illuminated at this time of the evening.

Magnus releases his hand to sit down and Alec immediately misses his touch, before realizing that it makes him sound like a teenager with a crush and cursing inwardly.

He stands there awkwardly for a while, until Magnus scoffs fondly and gestures for him to join him. Alec sits in front of him, and for a while, they just stare at one another in silence. It occurs to Alec, suddenly, that he doesn’t really know Magnus. They have been dancing around each other for a little over a month but Alec doesn’t know the important things you ought to know about someone you want to hold hand with all night long.

“Why did you become a surgeon?” he blurts out.

He can almost hear Jace yelling “socially inept” in his head and he closes his eyes, running a hand at the nape of his neck before he looks up at Magnus through his lashes with a sheepish smile. Magnus seems surprised but pleasantly so, and a soft smile is growing on his lips. He hides it by taking a sip of wine.

“Well, I didn’t become a doctor purely to flirt with tall, dark, handsome and brooding interns,” he replies, throwing Alec a wink. “That’s just a bonus.”

Alec summons the most unimpressed glare he can muster.

Magnus chuckles. “Fine,” he mutters, his fingers discarding his own words with a flourish. “To be honest, I’ve asked myself the same question about a million times,” he admits after a pause, leaning his elbows on the table, his eyes drifting to the side, lost in the chaos of taxis and speeding cars commuting below their feets. “Why do I do it? I could have been a pediatrician like Catarina, or a GP, and I wouldn’t have had to rush in to the hospital in the middle of the night to patch mangled bodies, sew holes closed and end up with my hands full of blood to allow some unfortunate soul to live and love another day.”

His fingers are playing with a forgotten napkin absently and in a rush of boldness, Alec reaches out to grab them, stroking his thumb against the back of his hand. Magnus darts his eyes back to him and smiles, small and private, and Alec is grateful for his sudden burst of courage if this smile is his reward.

“I think it’s a combination of many things,” Magnus goes on quietly, but his eyes are riveted into Alec’s now. “I didn’t do it for the glory, because when you work a hundred hours a week, glory doesn’t mean much, but there is certainly a part of ego. Of personal satisfaction. I don’t come from money and I emigrated in the US when I was a kid and I only spoke Indonesian at the time, so it wasn’t easy at first. I guess there’s a sense of personal revenge. But mostly, it’s a question of power.”

Alec lifts an eyebrow, but doesn’t speak, not quite daring to interrupt Magnus’ heartfelt confession. He wasn’t expecting that when he asked such a simple question, but this is much better.

“Not power over life or death,” Magnus quickly corrects when he realizes how that may sound. “I do the best I can but I’m afraid sometimes it isn’t enough no matter how hard I try.” There is a haunted, almost bitter spark in his eyes and Alec squeezes his hand in comfort. “I’ve accepted long ago that sometimes there’s nothing I or anyone else can do to prevent it. It goes with the job description.”

“What power then?” Alec asks softly, almost scared to startle him if he speaks louder.

“Well, thankfully, most of the time the battle is won and then, I have the power to replace the look of fear and distress on a patient’s and their family’s faces with a smile, or just with plain relief and well… it’s worth waking up at unholy hours in the morning, or being woken up by my pager at four in the morning on my day off.”

He shuts up abruptly and bites on his bottom lip nervously as he realizes he just admitted all of this out loud.

“But it’s mostly to flirt with the interns,” he adds airily with a dismissive wave, grabbing his glass to take a long sip.

Alec gives him a pointed glare, suppressing the adoring smile that threatens to take place on his face.

“My turn,” Magnus quips and he leans forward again, leaning his elbow on the table, glass in hand, as his eyes rake over Alec. “What’s the tattoo?”

And okay, Alec wasn’t expecting that either. It seems like Magnus is full of surprises.

The tattoo over his heart is just big enough to peek out of his collar at the base of his neck, but sometimes he forgets people can see it when the collars of his sweaters are low enough. Of course Magnus would have seen it. Magnus always seems to perceive what Alec would rather keep hidden.

“Oh,” he eventually manages to say. “It’s a rune.”

Magnus curves an eyebrow and waits in silence for Alec to go on, alert but not pushing.

“It’s the fearless rune, to be exact,” Alec explains, running a hand at the nape of his neck. “Izzy and Jace, my brother, have it too. We got it when our little brother Max was ill.”

Magnus’ eyes widen slightly. “You don’t have to tell me,” he rushes out. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s alright, Magnus,” Alec says, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “He’s fine now.” He pauses, taking a deep breath. “Max is like… a ball of energy. From the moment he wakes until he goes to bed in the evening, he’s laughing, singing, asking questions, playing nonstop. He was always like that. I mean, when he was two, even I had trouble following after him when he tried to run away. When he was eight, I was on holidays from med school and we were just playing around in the garden and he started throwing up and crying and there was nothing I could do that seemed to comfort him, or ease his pain and within minutes, the entire left side of his head and his left eye were completely swollen and I knew there was nothing I could do in my parents’ garden so I called my parents and we drove him to the hospital.”

Magnus doesn’t interrupt, but Alec can see in his eyes that he has already recognized the symptoms. He takes a deep breath before continuing, “The drive was awful. He had a fever and he kept shaking and he was so pale, it was-”

He cuts himself off, shaking his head instead. “Anyway, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The wait for the diagnosis was horrible because… I mean, I was already quite advanced in my studies so I knew what his symptoms meant logically but it was my little brother, and I couldn’t look at it like a future doctor, I couldn’t think of him as a patient so I kept hoping and reassuring my parents and my siblings that perhaps it was nothing until we got the results for the CT scan and I couldn’t keep lying to myself or to them.”

There is a shudder in his voice he can’t control, emotions he hasn’t invited crashing into his mind to submerge him with bad memories. He urges them back, finding an anchor in the minimal, feathery brush of Magnus’ thumb against his own.

“The tumor was huge,” he goes on slowly. “Big like an adult fist so we were told that emergency surgery was necessary. It was also extremely risky and there were higher chances for Max not to survive than the other way around. It was a big risk, but we didn’t have much of a choice because his vital organs were beginning to shut down. So Max went through surgery and it was the longest six hours of my entire life.”

He chuckles, shaking his head fondly. “I don’t know why I was even scared because Max kicked that tumor’s ass like a boss. It was nothing short of a miracle but he made it and when he was stable enough for us to visit him, Isabelle told him that he had no reason to be scared, because he was staying in the hospital anyway to get through chemotherapy, he told her something like, “please Izzy, I’m not scared of anything,” which is a lie because he’s totally scared of clowns.”

“Who isn’t?” Magnus chimes in with an exaggerated gasp. “Have you read _It_? Pennywise is fucking terrifying!”

Alec smiles softly. “I have read it but I’m not scared of clowns,” he retorts with a playful smirk.

“Well, not everyone is as perfect as you are, Alexander,” Magnus quips, winking at him. “What’s the rest of the story?”

“Max went through six months of chemo. Izzy, Jace and I went to get the fearless tattoo on the day we learned he was declared cancer-free.” He pauses, offers him a sheepish smile. “I should have gone with the story I usually tell about getting hammered during a frat party, right?”

Magnus laughs and it is so genuine and warm that Alec can’t hold back a smile of his own. “I like the true story,” he says sincerely and Alec feels the air promptly leave his lungs at the look of pure tenderness in his mesmerizing eyes. “But please do tell me about those wild frat parties of yours.”

So Alec does. Not that he has many wild frat parties to talk about, unless the interminable nights spent playing Kingdom Hearts with Simon in med school count. But he tells Magnus about college, and about his siblings, about Jace being a chef, about his parents, and he talks and he talks until he doesn’t even know what to talk about. It doesn’t matter, though, because Magnus talks just as much, about his friends, his childhood in Indonesia and then in New York, about his travels and his cat (“ _his name is Chairman Meow_ ,” he tells Alec when he shows him the pictures on his phone, to which Alec can only reply “ _of course it is_ ”).

They talk for so long that Alec loses all sense of time and place. All that remains is Magnus, Magnus’ words, Magnus’ kind eyes, Magnus’ devilish charisma, and Magnus’ hand in his.

Alec doesn’t kiss Magnus that night, but by the end of the night, when their friends are long gone and they are the last ones on the rooftop, he knows he is going to lose their competition. He is definitely going to ask Magnus out. As many times as Magnus will have him.

When they part in front of the parking of the hospital, Magnus presses a soft kiss at the corner of his lips, lingering just long enough to leave Alec craving for more.

When he gets home, he takes a long shower before sliding in bed. There is a text from Magnus waiting for him on his phone. It’s a picture of him in bed, his cat huddled against his chest, mouth hidden in his fur, with the simple caption, _Good night, Alexander. The Chairman says meow._

Alec snorts, bites his lip on a grin, and finally makes up his mind.

 _Go out with me_ , he texts Magnus, his cheek still tickling where he kissed him, his fingers trembling as he rushes to type, not even bothering to make it a question.

 _Finally! I thought you’d never ask_ , Magnus replies almost immediately and Alec can almost hear his dramatic sigh of relief. _I thought I’d have to get through the third intercostals space with a sharp object to get to your heart._

 _No, you did that all by yourself_ , Alec responds.

He falls asleep with a smile on his lips.

.

He is still smiling when he gets to work on Monday.

Magnus’ flashy car is parked in his spot even though he arrived extra early but he doesn’t even care. He parks right next to it and has to actually physically refrain himself from bouncing his way inside. He didn’t see Magnus at all on Sunday, because he was locked in op room all day long for various emergencies but they still managed to text a little in the evening and that should not make him so dizzy and pleased. But, _screw it_ , it does.

He is just walking inside the hall, heading towards the stairs to get the break room when it happens.

“Lightwood!”

Alec stops dead on his tracks and swirls around. Maureen, the front desk secretary, is waving at him. Alec frowns and trots to  meet her.

Maureen hands him out a small stack of papers. “Sorry I didn’t give you these before,” she says, as if it should make complete sense to Alec. “I’ve been too busy lately and it wasn’t my priority. Get these back to me whenever you can.”

Alec frowns, looking down at the form in his hand. “What is this?”

“It’s the form to reserve a parking spot,” Maureen tells him matter-of-factly. “So you don’t have to spend half an hour looking for one every morning. You haven’t seen the plate on every spot with the owner’s name?”

Alec shakes his head, his mouth dropping open in shock.

“The parking spots are reserved,” Alec breathes out.

“Mmhmm.”

“Does Magnus have one?” he asks, although he is quite certain he already knows the answer to that. “Dr. Bane?”

“Yeah, it’s the one right next to the entrance. I told you, there’s a plate with his name at the front.”

Alec stares at her in bewilderment for a while, all pretence at eloquence vanishing into thin air.

Alec’s parking spot is actually Magnus’ parking spot. He has been fighting him and complaining about him being a thief for a month and a half when _he is the thief_. He has been the thief from the start.

He drops his head on the counter of Maureen’s desk, and groans out loud.

“You okay there, Lightwood?”

Alec grunts in lieu of an answer. He feels like an utter idiot. And then it occurs to him. Magnus has never tried to rectify him all those times Alec called him out for supposedly stealing his parking spot.

“I’m going to kill him,” he grumbles before straightening up, sending Maureen a look as sober and respectable as he can considering he just embarrassed himself in front of her and walks away with all the poise he can muster.

Magnus is already in the break room when Alec gets there, chatting happily with Dr. Loss and the man from the bar who doesn’t look like a doctor but more like a university teacher, if the tweed blazer with reinforced elbows is anything to go by.

“Alexander!” Magnus exclaims happily as he barges in. He flashes him a grin so wide and luminous that Alec almost forgets about the reason why he is mad. And then, Magnus reminds him, “I’ve got a new one,” he adds cheerfully. “Are you scleroderma? Because you make things hard.”

“Really, Magnus?” the stranger deadpans, the words lulling out of his mouth with a heavy British accent. “And you wonder why you’re still single.”

Alec inhales deeply, forces himself to plaster a polite smile on his lips as he turns towards Dr. Loss, who is observing the scene with an amused smirk.

Alec strides his way to Magnus and grabs his arm in a firm grip. “Excuse me,” he says, before dragging Magnus behind him and rushing out of the room and into the corridor.

Magnus doesn’t even protest, watching Alec warily as a myriad of emotions succeed each other on his handsome features, from confusion, to mild embarrassment, to a hint of fear.

“Was that too much?” he asks with an apologetic grimace. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to -”

“Shut up, Magnus,” Alec growls.

Magnus obliges, his mouth sealing shut abruptly, and Alec thinks he should probably mark the date on the calendar as the day he finally managed to shut him up for once. He keeps his mouth closed until Alec drags him all the way to his office and bursts the door agape, before releasing his arm, gesturing for him to enter.

“Are you really mad?” Magnus asks, biting his bottom lip nervously, his eyes flashing with a mixture of concern and remorse. Damn him. “I swear I didn’t mean to -”

Alec kicks the door shut and turns around to face him.

“It’s your parking spot?” he then blurts out, just loud enough to convey his irritation.

Magnus blinks twice before he seems to register what Alec is talking about.

His lips pull into a small, taunting smirk as he says, “Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Alec exclaims bemusedly.

Magnus shrugs. “I’m competitive,” he replies as if it is good enough of an excuse. “And you’re pretty when you’re mad.”

Alec closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them again, Magnus doesn’t look confident, but unsure, his face scrunched up in worry.

“Are you really angry?” he asks again, voice small and hesitant.

Alec looks at the man in front of him, this stunning, extravagant, beautiful but incredibly aggravating man, and he snaps.

He isn’t sure what comes over him but in the spur of a second, he realizes something: this game of theirs, it lasted long enough.

He reaches out to close a fist around Magnus’ scrubs and pulls him forward. Magnus slams against his chest, his eyes widening in both apprehension and concern.

“I am fucking furious,” Alec whispers.

And he crashes their mouths together.

.

Magnus is fine. He is fine. Everything is fine.

Alec is kissing him.

Which is completely fine. Magnus is not going to pass out. That would be ridiculous. And overly dramatic, even for him.

What he does, however, is whimper in surprise and completely melt against Alec’s body. His mouth is warm against his, his lips soft like a caress but demanding. Alec tastes tentatively with his tongue, sliding it against his bottom lip and Magnus opens his mouth with a low moan, wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck to bring him closer. He kisses back just as fervently; his whole body feels like it is about to burst on fire, his fingers trembling as they reach up to tangle in Alec’s messy locks.

Alec pulls back to drift lower, breathing hard even as he drops a kiss against Magnus’ jaw line before burying his head in his neck.

“You are so infuriating,” he breathes against his skin, tongue poking at Magnus’ pulse point, sending a long shiver down his spine. “With your stupid puns and your shameless pickup lines and your fucking gorgeous everything.”

Magnus chuckles but the sound dies in his throat as Alec sucks on his neck.

“Fuck,” is all he can murmur in answer.

Alec groans, yanking his scrubs open and Magnus’ brain just shuts down. He feels hot all over and for once, he is actually speechless. If he had known Alec would react like that when he learned that the infamous parking spot has been Magnus’ all along, he would have told him about it much sooner.

Magnus moans and the sound coming out of his own mouth, lewd and just a hint desperate, seems to bring him back to reality. He tugs on Alec’s hair to force him to draw back, only to slam their lips together again, his free hand sliding under Alec’s misshapen sweater, revelling in the soft skin he finds there.

Alec pushes him back until Magnus hits the edge of his desk and he can’t go any further, trapped between the counter and Alec’s hard body against him. Alec pushes him back anyway but Magnus hisses in pain as his cat-shaped paperweight digs into his lower back and he draws back immediately.

“You okay?” he mutters in a strangled voice, brow furrowed in concern.

“Paperweight,” Magnus says eloquently.

Alec takes a look at the desk over Magnus’ shoulder before he steps back, only to send the entire content of Magnus’ desk hurtle through the room with a swift blow of his arm.

Magnus should probably be concerned about the time it is going to take him to reorganize everything but the only thought that actually travels through his mind is how incredibly hot that was.

“Hey, Alexander,” Magnus calls out through heavy breathing. “Are you a scalpel? Because I want to feel you inside me.”

Alec freezes, sending him a bewildered, albeit clouded with lust, glance before he bites his lip to stifle a laugh. “Magnus, that’s just ridiculous,” he mutters, grabbing Magnus’ hips to push him against the desk again, gently this time. “Why would you _want_ a scalpel inside you?”

“What? Do you have a better one?” Magnus challenges, curving an eyebrow daringly.

Alec smirks, warm breath ghosting over Magnus’ lips and nods. “I’m going to poke and prod you hard,” he mutters, eyes lit up with both mischief and amusement.

Magnus makes a noise amidst a chuckle and a moan, circling his legs around Alec’s waist to propel him closer, capturing his mouth in a hungry, almost frenzied kiss.

It’s a mess of lips and tongue and teeth, and fingers wandering on skin, discovering, digging, scratching. Magnus knows his scrubs fly through the room at some point, and that his shirt and Alec’s sweater suffer the same treatment, but he can’t bring himself to remember how and when it happened. To be fair, Alec is grinding against him, hips pushing against his own, and it’s proving to be extremely distracting.

Magnus’ breath hitches in his throat when Alec pushes his pants down and props himself up on his elbows when he does the same with his own, his eyes raking over every exposed inch of skin.

Their heads snap to the side at the same time when they hear voices coming from behind the door.

“Did you lock the door?” Magnus asks in a strained voice.

Alec rushes to do just that, and then turns around, walking back to Magnus slowly, eyes riveting over his body, the hunger in his eyes so pregnant that Magnus almost finds himself blushing.

Instead, he stretches out over his desk to open the top drawer - and as much as he cursed Raphael at the time, he is now very happy that his grumpy friend decided to put lube and condoms on his desk a week ago with a note that said “ _Please just fuck the intern already, I can’t deal with your stupid pining anymore. Ps: I bet 50 bucks on this week, don’t disappoint me. I’m not losing to the nerdy kid who keeps blabbering about weird fantasy video games._ ”

When he spins back around, watching Alec with a triumphant glance, his hazel eyes are clouded with undisguised desire and Magnus’ heart skips a beat in his chest before he extends a hand to beckon him closer.

“You’re so beautiful,” Alec murmurs when he reaches him, nudging his legs open with his own. He sounds almost annoyed and Magnus smirks, pushing on his elbows to sit up, letting his fingers map a path on Alec’s chest, dipping in the curves of his abs and around his waist.

“I think you haven’t seen yourself, darling,” he purrs. “I’m pretty sure you were carved by the gods. Or Satan, actually. Sent to Brooklyn Hospital to tempt me. And wreck me.”

“I can do that,” Alec murmurs smoothly.

Magnus’ fingers twitch where they are brushing over Alec’s spine. “See?” he whines, pouting only a little. “You’re not playing fair.”

Alec presses a kiss to his lips, soft and quick. “You love it.”

“So full of yourself,” Magnus purrs, a taunting flicker in his eyes. “Now, can I be full of yourself too?”

Alec throws him an unimpressed glare. “This was your worst one yet,” he mumbles before surging forward, smashing their mouths together.

Magnus whimpers when Alec pushes a lube-slicked finger in him. Slowly and carefully, he pushes his way inside, all the while peppering Magnus’ skin with kisses, teeth grazing against his collarbone, nuzzling against his throat.

By the time he has three fingers stretching his hole, Magnus is just cursing incoherently, a blubbering mess of praises and soft whispers; and then Alec nudges against his sweet spot and he moans, loud and unabashed, hands flailing in the air before he settles for gripping the edge of the desk, knuckles turning white with his desperation.

Alec slams his free hand against his mouth, eyes wide but full of adoration. “Ssh,” he murmurs. “They’re going to hear us.”

“Don’t care,” Magnus replies breathily, if not slightly deliriously, pulling Alec flush against him to devour his mouth with a kiss. “Now get inside me,” he pants against his lips. “I’ve waited long enough.”

Alec’s breath hitches in his throat and he withdraws his fingers, rummaging to grab one of the condoms and the lube Magnus carelessly threw on the desk earlier.

Magnus wraps his legs around Alec’s waist when he slowly pushes inside of him, his back arching in response. He throws his head back against the desk, savouring the overwhelming flood of sensations that waves through him. He muffles a moan in Alec’s neck when he starts thrusting, slowly at first and then faster and faster until Magnus can’t even remember his own name. He bites at his shoulder, nails scratching at his back and Alec moans against his ear, low and quivering, and Magnus smiles, maybe a hint smugly.

When he comes, he sees stars, black spots dancing in front of his eyes and Alec follows him over the edge a minute later, slumping against Magnus’ body. They take another minute to bask in the afterglow before slowly detangling themselves, panting hard. Alec drops on the desk next to him, looking at the dull white ceiling as he catches back his breath.

“We just violated so many hygiene rules,” he muses out loud. “And it’s not even seven in the morning.”

“Score,” Magnus chuckles, irrationally happy and holds out a hand for Alec to high-five him. Alec turns his head to throw him a glare - which is completely belied by the smile in his eyes - but he humors him, laughing as he slams his palm against Magnus’.

Eventually, they get off the desk and stand next to each other, taking in the mess in room. It looks like a hurricane stormed through, papers and clothes scattered everywhere.

“Sorry,” Alec mutters, utterly unapologetic.

“Worth it,” Magnus retorts, stretching lazily.

Alec smiles and bends down just a little to press a soft kiss against Magnus’ lips.

Magnus wonders if he should have Raphael check his heart for cardiac issues, or if it is just the effect Alec has on him. Deep down, he thinks he knows the answer to that.

.

Alec marches in the break room with his chin up in the air.

“Hi,” he calls out, probably slightly too joyfully, walking straight to his locker to grab his scrubs, before he swirls around, only to be faced by three inquisitive pair of eyes.

“Where have you been?” Lydia asks, lifting an eyebrow.

“Oh, the traffic was awful,” Alec replies airily, shrugging his scrubs on.

“Your car was already here when I arrived twenty minutes ago,” Simon chimes in. “And you look like you just walked out of bed. Did you sleep here?”

Alec is about to defend himself when Magnus barges into the room, his usual beaming grin plastered on his lips.

“Good morning sunshines,” he greets them cheerfully.

The silence that settles in the room is heavy. One look at Magnus is all it takes Alec to understand why. His always perfectly-tamed hair is a mess, and the kind of mess that can only be left by hands carding through and pulling just a little. There’s a button missing to his scrubs and a hickey peeking from his collar, just red enough to testify of its freshness.

Eventually, it is Simon who reacts first, whooping loudly.

“Yes, Alec!” he exclaims, swirling around to punch Alec’s shoulder amiably, before shaking his fingers in the air with a grimace. “I knew I could count on you!”

He then turns towards Lydia and Maia, who begrudgingly drop bills in his outstretched hand.

Simon laughs, a bit maniacally. “Santiago is going to be so mad!” he snickers, sliding the bills in the pockets of his jeans.

“Come on,” Magnus blurts, clapping his hands like an impatient parent. “Neurology today. I’m not coming with you, I’ll be busy all day long in surgery.”

Lydia, Maia and Simon walk out of the room but Alec lingers a bit behind them.

“I’ll see you at lunch?” he mutters, but it sounds probing to his own ears.

“I don’t think so,” Magnus replies with a grimace. “I don’t even know if I’ll have time to grab lunch at all.”

Alec nods, squirming a little on his feet. “How about you start paying up on all the drinks you owe me tonight then?” he asks.

“Well, technically, it was my parking spot all along,” Magnus retorts tauntingly. “So you’re actually the one who owes me about a hundred drinks.”

“I better start making up for it as soon as possible then,” Alec counters with a playful smirk.

“I’ll see you tonight, Alexander,” Magnus says.

Alec wants to kiss him badly, but he knows there are eyes scrutinizing their every move, not only from the rest of the interns but also from Maureen, who is standing by the coffee machine, obviously eavesdropping on their conversation without an ounce of shame.

He nods once last time and walks away, sliding his hands in his pockets.

“Dr. Lightwood!” Magnus calls out and when Alec swirls around in the corridor to face him, he is holding a hand over his chest, flailing the other one dramatically. “I can’t breathe, I think I need mouth to mouth.”

Alec laughs and shakes his head fondly, before striding his way back to Magnus and grabbing the lapels of his scrubs to hurl him forward, covering his mouth with his own. There’s a chorus of cheers erupting behind him as Magnus wraps his arms around his waist and Alec flips off blindly over his shoulder, before focusing his whole attention to Magnus.

His heart is beating far too quickly in his chest and as a future doctor, he should probably be worried but when he pulls back, Magnus is glancing up at him with a look of pure adoration that he is sure he mirrors perfectly, and Alec thinks he’s just going to have to get used to the wild rummaging of his heart.

.

**Epilogue**

Alec hates the piercing, ear-splitting sound of the pager going off in the middle of the night.

One, because it means that something terrible happened and someone is most likely battling death at the exact same moment the thing starts shouting in his ears.

Two, because then Magnus groans and gets out of bed, leaving Alec alone and cold on a mattress that only feels comfortable when he is there to share it with him.

Magnus shuffles on the nightstand to switch the light on and grabs his pager, blinking twice before he can actually read the words displayed. Alec sits up in the bed, pressing a kiss against his bare shoulder.

“What is it?” he asks, nuzzling against the warm skin.

“Car crash,” Magnus sighs, bringing a hand up to stroke Alec’s hair for a moment. “Go back to sleep, my love. I’ll see you later at the hospital.”

He turns his head to press a kiss to Alec’s forehead before slipping out of bed.

“I’ll go with you,” Alec says, rubbing some at his eyes to coat the fatigue away. “They might need another pair of hands.”

“You don’t have to,” Magnus tells him, stopping in the threshold of the bathroom, looking back at him in his full naked glory. Alec absolutely doesn’t stare at the hickeys on his thighs.

“I’ll go with you,” Alec repeats stubbornly, pushing the covers off of his body. “Hop in the shower, I’ll make coffee.”

Magnus smiles, soft and grateful, and disappears in the bathroom. Alec waits until he hears the water pouring down in the shower before he slides a pair of boxer briefs on and drags himself to the kitchen. He turns the coffee machine on and fills Chairman Meow’s bowl - a pink, glittery pot that says ‘fabulous’ in capitalized letters -, scratching the cat between the ears when he comes rubbing at his legs.

He bites in an apple, sipping his coffee while fidgeting with Magnus’ tablet.

He stopped pondering on how domestic they act a while ago. It didn’t take long for them to settle into this routine. After their third date (Magnus had taken him to a nice, simple restaurant in East Brooklyn where the food was absolutely stunning, although nowhere near Magnus’ level, and the atmosphere calm and relaxing, away from the city’s never-ending clamor), they were already acting like they had been together for years. That doesn’t mean it is dull, or boring, because Alec doesn’t fathom how the words ‘boring’ and ‘Magnus’ could ever be used in the same sentence.

On the contrary, it is thrilling, electrifying, blood-tingling.

Now, six months into their relationship, Magnus still manages to surprise him every day with his quirks, his witty comebacks, his flamboyant outfits and his breathtaking everything.

They haven’t said the words yet, but Alec knows they have proved them a thousand times each, with small gestures, lingering touches, hands shifting over the other’s body in a rush of overwhelming desire.

When they do say it, Alec knows it will be perfect, like a lungful of air after spending too long underwater.

He has to stop himself from just blurting them out too often, and it happens again now when Magnus walks in the kitchen and presses a tender kiss against his temple before he grabs a mug to pour himself a coffee, the divine smell of his lemony body soap lingering after him.

“Izzy emailed you about that Broadway show she wants to take you to,” Alec tells him through a mouthful of apple, shifting the tablet to show him the screen.

Magnus hovers above his shoulder, the hand that isn’t holding his mug settling between his shoulder blades, and hums pensively, bending down to take a bite of Alec’s apple, ignoring his half-hearted cry of protest.

“I’ll text her tonight,” he says. “Are we still having dinner with your parents at your brother’s restaurant?”

“Yeah,” Alec replies, giving him the rest of his apple as he stands up, walking towards the bathroom. “My mother emailed me last night to remind me. And my father wants you to bring that book you were telling him about at their garden party two weeks ago.”

Magnus makes a noise of agreement, chewing on the apple, and walks to his living room to get said book. Alec shakes his head fondly and hops in the shower, letting the warm water soothe his sore muscles.

It is crazy, the way Magnus managed to charm his entire family as easily as he did. Then again, Alec knows better than anyone how talented he is at sneaking his way into one’s heart to take up residence there permanently.

It’s not really a surprise that his family fell in love with Magnus just like Alec did.

.

When Magnus disappears inside the operating room at half past four in the morning, pressing one last kiss to Alec’s lips before he does, Alec goes to help the other patients who are just slightly injured, patching them up before he sends them to the police so they can collect their statement.

Then, his day goes on almost normally. The rest of the interns arrive at six in the morning and all in all, Alec doesn’t see the time flying. When he gets his lunch break, Maureen tells him with a grimace that Magnus is still in the op room so he goes  back to the cafeteria.

It is by complete chance that he runs into Magnus around three in the afternoon when he is coming back from visiting a patient.

Magnus is sitting on the bench in front of the doors that lead to the operating rooms, head leaning back against the wall, eyes closed. His brow is slightly furrowed.

“Hey,” Alec says softly, stopping in front of him to card his fingers through his hair, pushing away a loose strand that was falling on his forehead. Magnus blinks his eyes open and smiles tiredly up at him. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Magnus breathes out in a strangled voice. “I’m just exhausted. I just spent ten hours with my hands dipped in blood.”

“The patient?” Alec mutters, smiling as Magnus leans his head against his palm.

“She’s out of the woods for now.”

“Do you have time for a nap?” Alec asks. “I’m on break for the next half hour.”

Magnus nods lazily and stands up slowly. They walk to Magnus’ office silence, their hands brushing together with every step talking louder than any word Alec could think of.

When they get there, he immediately locks the door and walks to the couch, opening his arms for Magnus who chuckles softly and snuggles against him. He drapes an arm over his chest, entangling their legs together and immediately closing his eyes.

Alec drops a kiss in his hair.

“I’m glad I stole my own parking spot all those months ago,” Magnus mumbles, craning his neck to drop a kiss against Alec’s cheek.

Alec snorts and rolls his eyes. “Me too,” he whispers back in Magnus’ hair. “I love you.”

Magnus slides a hand under his t-shirt, laying it innocuously on his stomach, and opens his eyes just to look into Alec’s as he murmurs, “I love you.”

It’s not what Alec had imagined. It’s not the two of them over a romantic dinner, fairy lights glimmering over their head, but this is what they have and this is what they are.

So this is perfect either way.

.

**Author's Note:**

> A comment a day keeps the angst away.  
> (Kudos work too)
> 
> ... (that was a lie)
> 
> I'm on tumblr [@lecrit](http://lecrit.tumblr.com/) and on twitter [@_L_ecrit](https://twitter.com/_L_ecrit) ❤


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